The ECU baseball team will begin play in the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee at noon on Friday in the Chapel Hill Regional.
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Photo credit: (ECU Sports Information)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Fresh off capturing their second consecutive American Conference tournament title, the third-seeded East Carolina Pirates (36-21-1) hit the road to open play in the 2026 NCAA Chapel Hill Regional on Friday.
The Pirates will square off against second-seeded and 20th-ranked Tennessee (38-20) at noon Eastern inside Bryson Field at Boshamer Stadium. First pitch is set for noon on Friday. It can be seen on ESPN+ with coverage from Pirate Radio on our YouTube page.
PROJECTED FRIDAY STARTERS
#7 LHP Ryan Towers vs. #11 LHP Evan Blanco
REGIONAL HISTORY
This will be East Carolina’s 36th NCAA Regional appearance, with the 2026 season marking the eighth consecutive for the Pirates. The Pirates may have had a chance in the bubble for an at-large bid, but got rid of all doubt on Sunday afternoon, solidifying an automatic qualifier, winning against the UTSA Roadrunners 1-0. The Pirates are one of six teams that currently have a regional appearance streak of more than one.
The Pirates solidified their regional appearance in 2025, also winning the conference tournament for an automatic bid, heading to runner-up Coastal Carolina, where the Pirates were one run away from a Super Regional.
TOUCHING BASE
Jack Herring is currently on a 65-game on-base streak for the Pirates, marking being one of 18 Pirates to have reached base in at least 30 games since 1998. Herring is currently the only Pirate in program history to have more than 60 consecutive reached bases. Herring surpassed Connor Norby against Florida Atlantic, having a walk on the day to be the lone Pirate at the top. Herring’s on-base streak is aided by his disciplined approach to the plate, leading the Pirates in seven different offensive categories. More notably, Herring sits 14th in the nation in walks (53) and 26th in on-base percentage (.498).
Out of the 18 players who have reached a 30-game on-base streak, eight have been under the leadership of Cliff Godwin.
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
The Pirates had six athletes on the ECU baseball team receive All-Conference honors for the 2026 season. With Ethan Norby, Joseph Webb, and Braden Burress all making First-Team, Jack Herring was named on the second team. Finally, two players were honored to be named on the All-Freshman team, with Ethan Rose and Grady Lenahan making that honor.
ABOUT TENNESSEE
The 2026 season marked a transitional chapter for Tennessee baseball, playing its first year under head coach Josh Elander. The Volunteers navigated a highly competitive landscape to finish the regular season and SEC tournament action with an overall record of 38–20 and a balanced 15–15 mark in SEC play.
The Vols proved to be incredibly tough at Lindsey Nelson Stadium, putting up a dominant 28–10 home record, though they faced tougher sledding on the road (7–8 away). Tennessee flexed its muscles late in the season with massive home series wins over top-ranked opponents, including taking two out of three against No. 4 Texas in early May.
LAST TIME AGAINST TENNESSEE
The last time East Carolina and Tennessee met at the Keith LeClair Classic was on March 5, 2016, in a packed Saturday night matchup that saw the Volunteers secure a 5–2 victory at Clark-LeClair Stadium. Tennessee jumped out to a quick 3–0 lead in the top of the first inning by capitalizing on a pair of early Pirate throwing errors. The Pirates finally broke through in the bottom of the seventh, but the Tennessee bullpen stifled the momentum by holding ECU hitless the rest of the way to seal the win.
But the history between East Carolina and Tennessee is anchored by one of the most competitive and agonizing postseason series in Pirate lore, the 2001 Kinston Super Regional. Hosting at Grainger Stadium in Kinston, North Carolina, the number 7 national seed Pirates were just two wins away from punching their first-ever ticket to Omaha.
What followed was a pair of dramatic, late-inning heavyweight fights that ultimately went the Volunteers’ way, setting up a quarter-century of anticipation for a postseason rematch.